Tool helps extinguish apartment fire

The Belgium Fire Department finally got to use its fire suppression tool to limit damage to an apartment complex last week, and a local business is giving back to help a displaced resident.

The department responded to a fire in an eight-unit apartment building at 260 Main St. around 3:30 p.m. Dec. 23.

Crews were able to locate the fire on the second story, and First Assistant Fire Chief Pat Wester pulled the pins to activate the FireTKO Fire Suppression Tool (FST) and tossed it into the bedroom where a candle was accidentally knocked over and started the blaze.

The FST, he said, was a key in quickly extinguishing the fire. It knocked down the flames and reduced the temperature, buying firefighters time to get to the fire and making it easier to extinguish and limit to one apartment unit.

“I truly believe that with how fast the fire spread in the bedroom and with how hot it was, had it not been used there would have been a substantial amount of more damage in the apartment. Although it didn’t completely extinguish the fire, it at least slowed it down until our crews could get inside to extinguish the fire,” Wester said.

No residents or firefighters were injured in the fire, but a woman in her 70s who lived in the apartment where the fire started lost everything.

Buechler Farms is supporting the woman with money collected from holiday photo sessions by Memories with Stephanie. They are giving her and her family a wagon ride and accepting donations at Village Hall, 104 Peter Thein Ave. It’s closed Thursday and Friday for the holiday but donations may be put in the drop box. Cash, gift cards and food are requested. People are asked to specify that donations are for the Buechler Farms holiday give-back ride.

The Belgium Area Chamber of Commerce is also helping by offering to pick up donations. Contact the Chamber by the end of the day Thursday at belgiumareachamber@gmail.com or 424-5204.

A downstairs resident of the apartment complex is living with her parents, Wester said.

This is the second year in a row Buechler Farms is giving back. Last year, it organized a community caroling event, Christmas Eve wagon ride and donated gifts for a young girl with a serious illness.

Other fire departments that responded to the fire included the Random Lake, Cedar Grove, Fredonia, Saukville and the Port Washington Fire/Rescue, as well as the Ozaukee County Sheriff’s Office and Kelmann Restoration.

The fire department had its FST replaced a day later, on Christmas Eve. Each unit costs around $500 and is only able to be used once.

Fire Chief Dan Birenbaum said the FST is a valuable tool.

“It can save a lot of damage,” he said.

On Dec. 24, the fire department was called to a structure fire at 124 Hidden Bluff Rd. in the Town of Belgium. The fire was out by the time firefighters arrived, so they helped remove siding and soffit to check if the fire had spread.

The fire started after ashes were put in a cardboard box and set on top of a woodpile outside the house, Birenbaum said.

The department reminds people to be careful when removing ashes from a fireplace and to store them in a metal bucket away from structures. The Ozaukee Sheriff’s Office also responded.